Minstrel's Dance premiered at Wigmore Hall

Academy of St Martin in the Fields gives world premiere of Genesis commission by Serbian composer Isidora Žebeljan

Isidora Žebeljan has created a new piece for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, commissioned by the Genesis Foundation. Originally the piece was to be developed from Song of a Traveller in the Night: a Tribute to Bill Viola which was presented in London's National Gallery in October 2002. Isidora, however, has come up with a totally new composition for chamber orchestra.

On 3 February 2005 at London's Wigmore Hall, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields gave the world premiere of Minstrel's Dance, a new 15-minute work for chamber orchestra within three movements. It was conducted by its Serbian composer, Isidora Žebeljan.

The piece was commissioned as a gift for the Academy by the Genesis Foundation to thank them for their co-operation in presenting the world premiere of a chamber piece by Isidora, Song of a Traveller in the Night. This was commissioned as a tribute to video artist Bill Viola and first given at the National Gallery as part of the Bill Viola Exhibition that opened in October 2003. Originally the new commission for the Academy was intended simply to be an extension of that piece. Isidora has, typically, come up with something completely new instead.

Isidora Žebeljan came to the attention of the Genesis Foundation through the first ever Genesis Opera Project when her chamber opera, Zora D, was selected for full workshop. The one-hour opera was then commissioned by Genesis for presentations in Amsterdam and Vienna and has been performed to critical and audience acclaim not only in those two cities but also in Belgrade at the BEMUS festival. This opera was directed by David Pountney and Nicola Raab and opened the 50th season of the Vienna Chamber Opera in 2003.

Isidora is the most successful of Serbia's young composers, writing not only for the concert hall but also for theatre, dance and film; and she is a teacher of composition at the Zagreb National Conservatory. She is herself a superb performer on the piano and also a strikingly original singer of Serbian folk music. Recently she completed a composition The Horses of Saint Mark, an illumination for symphony orchestra, commissioned by the Venice Biennale and performed at the Biennale in 2004. It was recently published by Ricordi Milano.

Isidora's work has a distinct signature and full awareness of modern techniques and demands, and it is also extremely lyrical and accessible. One critic in Venice suggested that "it points the way for classical music to go in the 21st century!" Her music has been played in the UK, The Netherlands, Italy, Austria, France and the USA with remarkable successes. The Genesis Foundation is very proud to be associated with this exceptional composer at this early, formative stage of her career.

The performance on 3 February was a great success for Isidora and for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which is much more associated with Baroque and Classical music in the popular mind than with a contemporary work like Isidora's or the rest of the programme (Stravinsky, Britten and Bartok). The audience cheered The Minstrel's Dance; and the critics, especially The Guardian newspaper in London, praised the piece and also the performance. Isidora conducted her own world premiere - and was nearly dancing herself to the rhythms of the piece.

The Music

You can hear 3 extracts from this piece by clicking on the links below:

• Isidora Žebeljan: Minstrel's Dance: Extract 1
• Isidora Žebeljan: Minstrel's Dance: Extract 2
• Isidora Žebeljan: Minstrel's Dance: Extract 3